Cherry Pit
by DiddlebobParker
Summary: For two to truly be in love, one must not only admire the outward appearance or enjoy the multiple layers of bliss that follow, but cherish most the passion and emotion they have brought out from deep within each other. The pit. "Love makes the wildest spirit tame, and the tamest spirit wild." -Alexis Delp. SuigetsuXOC
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Water Bottle

"Damn." I grumble to myself between heavy breaths, trying to keep my voice as low and calm as possible.

I can almost hear it, my heart pounding rapidly in my chest just as I skid to a stop. I gulp. The pressure reaches my sweaty head, pounding. I practically gasp for air, and I'm sure my head is a bright shade of red. To the left, I find the entrance to an unpleasantly narrow alleyway. Stealing one last desperate gulp of air, I dash into the darkness reluctantly. A puddle splashes underfoot, and for a second I'm tempted to seek refuge there, but I quickly steer my eyes away and convince myself and my legs to keep running. Wet footprints follow behind me, and I now notice the loud concrete pavement that has replaced the forest grass. I huff myself a laugh at the ground and then look forward again.

"So, _that's _it." It being more of a certain statement than a rhetorical question.

I cock my head to the side to make sure my pursuers haven't caught on to the sounds of my feet or the footprints I foolishly hadn't covered up, and I leave my feet on autopilot in hopes this path stays straight. It does. That is, until I collide with her.

"Hey!" says the thin, auburn haired girl now scurrying on the ground to pick up her groceries.

Paying the girl no mind, I shoot my head straight up and search the night sky as I regain my balance from impact. Nothing shows, but I leave my eyes up. She keeps going on about something, but I haven't the slightest inkling of what she's saying. All I end up having for the girl was,

"Watch where you're walking next time, princess." And I run off.

Water.

Near the edge of the alleyway, my legs get weak and I hastily reach for the single water bottle to my side. The fact that I'm nearly out in the open doesn't come to mind. My throat is so dry and yearning for water that I can't help but to pry the lid off the bottle. Shaking it, hoping water will splash on my face, nothing happens in the slightest.

Empty.

Cursing I quickly slam the lid back on the bottle, re-attach it to my hip, and stumble to run once again. That's why I always carry two water bottles.

Running for this distance has really damaged my hydration levels, and I don't know how much longer my legs will hold up before I simply fall flat. Exhausted and out new paths to run on, I turn my head from left to right then bend down to put my hands on my knees. I need moisture. Panting unnaturally, I look over the village area for temporary safety to save my hide. Spotting a sewer hole, I almost hesitate, but I know, if dehydrated, I'm as good as dead captured. So, I lift the lid with what little strength I could gather from my dehydrated body, and jump in, making sure to cover the hole behind me.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Sewer

Splash! Into the green sewer water I sink, reluctantly swallowing one polluted gulp of water after the other. I never knew I'd actually think water tastes bad. Gagging when I reach the surface, I nearly throw up, but force myself to down the water and waste that's stinging my taste buds.

A brief feeling of energy coursing through my body is enough for me to want more, and I plunged into the filth for a second go. After about five mouthfuls of the stuff and gagging too many times, I'm done with the taste and felt I regained enough strength to swim. Hopefully my stomach won't punish me later.

These tunnels are bound to go somewhere, but from where I swim, all I see is pitch blackness illuminated only by a small ring of light escaping from openings in the closed sewer hole.

"Well, this'll be fun." I say sarcastically to myself.

I stop swimming, and lay motionless in the water. For a moment, I try think, but my body has other plans. Pieces of my skin begin to stretch and dissolve in a contradicting sensation of numbness covering my entire body, followed by an unconscious change of composition from flesh to liquid. Forget swimming. I'll just follow the current until some sewer rat leads the way.

Metal clanking against metal ending in a loud thud echoes through the passageways, hinting that my guest is strong enough to lift up the sewer lid. And from what I could tell by its gait across the passage, distressed. There's no doubt this is a human, and would be a lot more entertaining than some rat.

Anticipation. In one swift motion, I materialize and keep the top half of my body above water, returning it to its original, solid form. Droplets follow my movements and splash all over the guest. She yells at the sudden splash of water.

"Hey!" Screams the very familiar voice.

With both hands, she takes her hair and twists it, in trying to oust the filthy water.

"What was that for?" she questions angrily. I don't reply.

My eyes are too busy scanning the body in front of me. Long, straight, Auburn strands draped around her head and sides of her face lay effortlessly over her chest, making them almost dark in contrast to her pale blue eyes and light complexion. Her figure is tight but maintains feminine curves, complementing her almost voluptuous chest. And I think, if I was solid, something would've come up.

"Have I been good or what?" I say out of pure enjoyment of the situation.

"Excuse me?" She snaps.

"Hmmmm..?" I mumble, giving her a toothy grin.

She just rolls her eyes and continues tending to her hair. So I decide to start the game.

"So, what brings you here? The danger, the smell," I pause to smile, "the water?"

"Ha. Ha." she teases. "Were you born this arrogant, or did it come with practice?"

Ow! She's defensive.

I giggle to myself and smirk at her,

"Feisty, eh?"

She stares at me with a smug look of disinterest on her face, but turns away quickly. Of course, she then pauses to finish getting the last trace of water out of her hair, and opens her mouth to speak.

"Since we're asking questions here, what are you doing down here anyhow?"

"I could ask you the same thing, princess." I answer, crossing my arms on the cement walkway beside her feet.

She looks down at my bare arms with the same look, but now with her nose cringed. If it weren't for my sudden gesture, I'd expect that face a result of the rancid smell lurking down here, but I can tell she's not yet enjoying the close proximity.

Rummaging through her purse, as I assume be a personal distraction, she moves her hands hastily through it signaling she might have lost someone in her black hole of a handbag. Finding what she was looking for, she takes it out of her purse, and hurls the object at me like a deliberate attempt to hit me in the face.

"To return this. I believe it belongs to you." She states like she already knows.

Catching it just before impact, my palm recognizes the shape and texture.

My other water bottle.

Curiosity more than surprise causes me to ask,

"How do you know this is mine?"

No answer.

"Hey!" I shout, echoing through the tunnels.

Her footsteps stop for a moment, only to start again. And she screams loud enough to compete with the current.

"Oh, I know!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Who Are You?

It's warm, as it travels across my palm. I smirk, at the small droplets drizzling down my fingertips and into the mass of water surrounding me. Having been accustomed to cold water for so many years, the relaxing warmth of the water is delightful. I sink my body deeper and wait, ponder. Wether I want to or not, the ideas of her creep into my thoughts, each little one filling my mind with theories. I try to brush them aside, as the thoughts are beginning to give me a headache. Going deeper into the water, my head throbs more, and I realize I need air. Slowly swimming up, I breach the surface. Immediately, with both hands, I wipe the droplets from my face. Then I shake my head. Expecting these thoughts, and this headache, to shake off more than the water. I then walk through the water to the edge of the small lake, and grab my water bottle as I prop myself on the lake's edge. My teeth begin working on the straw, chewing it after each sip I take. And just as I'm starting to take in the scenery of the quaint house in front of me, its doors slide open. Small flopping footsteps on the wood of the porch don't give away who it is, but I have a pretty good idea. She slides the small door closed and turns. Her long auburn hair is into a high ponytail, and sways back and forth as she walks closer. The one-piece swimsuit she decided to wear today seems to torture her chest, constricting them in all the wrong places, but somehow keeps the curves of that hourglass figure intact. And still, a bikini would do my eyes some good. The first look in her eyes shows she's genuinely surprised, but fades quickly into irritation. She frowns and stomps her small feet to the lake's edge.

"Get out." she commands, crossing her arms and fixating her pale blue eyes right on me fearlessly.

"Now is that any way to treat your guest?" I tease, thinking that will annoy her.

"Get out," she repeats, "now."

I snicker.

"Chill, princess. I'll leave." I reply nonchalantly, and hold my hands up innocently. "Just thought I'd stop by and say thanks first—for last night."

Her expression doesn't change,

"I said, get out."

Did she not hear what I just said? I splash my hands back into the water and look at her. Just to make sure, for a few moments, I stand motionless in the water...

Nothing...

I guess she doesn't care how I found her house.

"Most people would say 'your welcome'." I reply.

She still looks unamused, and I half expect her to ignore my comment.

"Hn." She pauses. "If you don't get out of my lake now, I'm calling the anbu on your ass." she threatens.

I laugh a little at that, "And you think I give a shit?"

"I think if you really aren't afraid of them, you wouldn't have run."

I grin for her. She's actually trying to scare me. It's really a cute try.

Then, I decide to prop myself up and out of the water with an idea in mind. I can feel her threatening glare following my every movement, but pretend not to notice. Making sure to get within close proximity of her, I walk over, dripping wet. The sound of each drop falling to the earth is close to begging for the towel draped over her near bare shoulders. I could be polite and reach my hand out for it, but the alternative sounds so much more entertaining, so I swiftly take the cloth from her possession and make sure to smile at her before using it. She makes no gesture to seize it back, and I take that as a sign she's not interested in playing. Harsh. I was expecting at least some struggle, but she remains stationary with a glare pinned on her face. I shrug that off, knowing I'll get a reaction out of her soon, and take the towel and attempt to dry out my hair. Then I slowly drape it over my shoulders, making sure her eyes are still following me and I return the stare.

"I have my reasons, princess."

"I'm sure you do." She says, dryly.

She makes a slight movement with her head, and I can't tell why. Either she wanted to say something and decided against it or I've actually found a flaw in her. So, I drop the conversation and decide to retrieve my water bottle, trying to oust the awkward presence in the air. When I bend down and hold it in my hand, it seems lighter than I expected. I investigate by pulling the lid off and looking inside. Only a small puddle of water lies in the edge of the circular bottle, and I realize I'll need more if I'm gonna leave here.

"Hey." she calls abruptly, just as I swallow my last shrivel of water.

I look away from the bottle and back at her, a little annoyed at the interruption, but pleased at the sight of her attempting to get my attention for the first time. My posture sets back to normal and I wait to see what she wants, a confused look set on my face. Her stare this time isn't as if she's mocking me, but more like she's looking me over for something.

"What?"

"Who are you?" She inquires like she's still deliberating the possibilities in her head.

I don't answer for a moment, not that I'm caught off guard. I knew it was coming, eventually. I just hoped not so early on.

Dust clouds around my feet, and I can feel it gathering with each footstep I make. I keep my arms behind my head and continue walking, paying the dry, earthy particles nestling in between my toes no mind. The dry terrain below me is hard. What little plants once lived here are far dead, and only resemble corpses of what they once were. Brown and shriveled up leaves and stems are all that remain. And compared to the houses, these plants look good. Roofs of some cave in, leaving a gaping hole. Broken doors, cloths torn and burnt, and the occasional smashed window. Black ash covers the wooden framework of every small building in this abandoned village, telling the story of how the community met its demise. Most people would believe such a 'depressing' scene like this tragic, but I see it as just some other deserted town that people slowly forgot about. Everything has to die sometime. Unfortunately, for the former villagers, this fell sooner than everyone thought it would.

My nose always cringes at the dry air when I'm here. The lack of moisture in the air plus the fact that I'm dehydrated by the time I get here makes my body yearn for water. And since I don't plan on ending up like one of those plants, I pull my arms down from behind my head and stop to grip one of my water bottles. I take it in my hand, find the straw, and drink, taking one greedy gulp after another until it's down to almost nothing. Then I pull it away from my mouth and turn my attention to the bottle, the one she returned to me. Questions from before return to my head in another attempt to irritate me. How did she know this was mine? Does she know me? If she does, she would've turned me in like she said in her puny threat and wouldn't have asked me who I am in the first place. If she knows who I am and what I'm capable of, she would've run, just like anyone who's competent would. But her expression was calm, almost fearless. If she does know me, either the thought to run hadn't crossed her mind, she wasn't afraid in the slightest, or she's a complete idiot. I laugh to myself at the thought and toss it aside. Fear hadn't tainted her expression in the slightest. She has no idea who I am or what she's getting into.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Locked

Dust and rocks fall out when I take off my shoes. Stepping in the building causes the floorboards to creak, and I stop my movements. But, since I don't hear any reaction shortly after, I assume everyone else is out and step further inside. When I manage to look around, I see that there's a giant hole in the roof just above what should be the living room, revealing the dark sky splotched with stars.

"'It'll work. It's private.'" I mock. Then I snicker to myself at my pitiful impersonation of Sasuke.

Unstrapping the belt around my chest, I heave my sword off my back. I sigh and set it against the wall. My back then slides down the wooden frame behind me until my butt reaches the floor and I sit. Then I unstrap the belts on my waist, unhinge the water bottles on my hips, and toss the straps to the side. There isn't much water left by now, but I take the lids off and let glide down my throat what little's left. I'd been too greedy on the trip here and the consequences could start to show. With no interest to sit here and wait much more, I decide to obey my thirst and scavenge for water. Running water or not, I would take tap for all I care. On my way to the kitchen, I notice tap might be my only option. The slender space left for the kitchen is crammed in the middle by a small standing sink and cabinet below it, where I assume the plumbing to be. A small, silver lock coated in black ash holds the cabinet's door closed, and I raise an eyebrow at it as it sparks my curiosity. Contrary to my curiosity, it loses my attention for the moment and I turn my head down to the black, ashy imprint left on the old tiles next to the cabinet. Squatting down, I look at it closer and try to figure what could have been there. Judging by the missing refrigerator, I come to that conclusion. I smile to myself and shake my head before I stand back upright.

"Tch." I pause to scan the area, "What a dump." I say to myself, knowing this is gonna be a pain.

Then there's that lock. My logic is telling me that whatever is in there is probably no more than worthless even if I managed to break in, but I normally don't consult with my logic. I'm gonna find out what's behind that lock. Curious, I kneel down to the cabinet and begin to focus a small amount of chakra in my hand to just break the lock off by force. Ash smeared too far into the metal inscriptions, so I know deciphering the combination is out of the question. This seems my best option.

"Already tried that." An annoying and all too familiar voice abruptly chimes in.

I drop my hand to my leg and turn my head to barely glance at her.

"How long have you been standing there?" I question, disregarding her comment.

"Long enough to hear you talking to yourself." She jeers, "How pathetic."

"Like your failed attempts at flirting with Sasuke?" I snap back.

"T...th-that's ridiculous! I never—You're delusional! I do not flirt!" she quickly defends herself while frantically trying to reposition her glasses.

"Yeah? Your voice is cracking."

I smirk, and see her face is becoming just as red as her eyes and bad haircut.

In embarrassment she swiftly turns her head to the side, and sticks her nose up.

I just can't resist. Slowly, I stand up, uncross my arms and move towards her. Whispering as I lean in close and place my hands on her shoulders,

"Let's be honest, Karin. We all know you just want the 'd'."

You'd think by now she'd realize she's just wasting her energy trying to punch my face in. But, her small fists lunge towards my face nevertheless. I simply duck out of routine. She misses a good several times before finally hitting her target. Water explodes from my face at impact, but a small and unfamiliar feeling of pain strikes me, and I try my best not to look caught off guard.

"Suigetsu!" She screeches. "You vile, you repulsive—"

"Karin. Knock it off." Interrupts a deep voice as I hear creaks of feet moving across the wooden floor.

Karin's fists make a hasty retreat and I feel my face slowly morphing back into shape. And for the first time in a while, it's all Karin's fault. His voice was calm but bossy as always. The large stature of the orange-haired Jūgo with upright locks follows him in through the kitchen entrance. The tall guy stays silent, but watches the three of us intently. Karin on the other hand looks concerned, and is quick to take off her glasses and bat her eyelashes in an attempt to try to look all innocent.

"Sa-Sasuke—"

"Get unpacked." He cuts her off, ignoring her plea with no eye contact.

"We'll be staying here a while."

His elbow shrugs off the small, feminine hands that had desperately wrapped around his arm, and nonchalantly walks off, keeping the insipid emotion displayed on his face. This steals the smile off my own and replaces it with a frown and sore glare his way, but I obey reluctantly nonetheless.

Sweat travels down my moist back and across my tired face, dripping off my chin. I wipe my forehead in agitation and rub my chin, catching some droplets in my hand. Humid air blankets me with uncomfortable moisture and I succumb to the heat before my whole shirt is wet. Sighing, I pull the sleeveless garment up and off my head, toss it to the side of me, and shake my damp head before flopping my body back on the mat. It sticks quickly to the fabric and I force my body to sit up once again, groaning. And with that, I pick both palms up to my face with the intention of wiping additional sweat from my cheeks, but more so pulling my skin. This displaying my chronic insomnia. Then I lift up my head towards the gaping hole in the ceiling, my deep purple eyes gaze at the few stars sprinkled in the rich navy and black night sky. 'Boring stars as usual', I comment in my head. From the room to my right, faint snoring can be occasionally heard from what I believe to be the obnoxious red head, but other than her, hardly anything but the crickets makes a sound. Normally, I'd slam my fist to that wall and tell her to shut up, but I like it better when she's not talking. So I instead prop myself up from the wooden floor, slip on my shoes, and make my way out, scratching the back of my neck and getting my fingertips wet walking out the door.


End file.
